Review says teen, not police officer, killed Columbine student

Wednesday, April 17, 2002

ROBERT WELLER

Associated Press WriterGOLDEN, Colo. (AP) -- An independent investigation released Wednesday concluded that a student killed in the Columbine High massacre was slain by one of the teen gunmen, not by a police officer as his parents had alleged.

The findings determined that Denver Police Sgt. Daniel O'Shea was not present when Daniel Rohrbough was shot, said Barry Arrington, an attorney for Rohrbough's parents.

"They find that Eric Harris was the shooter, the one who fired all three shots that hit Danny," Arrington said before a news conference detailing the report.

Rohrbough was among 12 students and a teacher killed by Harris and Dylan Klebold during the 1999 rampage in suburban Littleton. Harris and Klebold then killed themselves in the school library.

Rohrbough's family had alleged in a lawsuit that their son was accidentally killed by O'Shea, who denied the accusation.

Brian Rohrbough, Daniel's father, said the report gave the family some satisfaction.

"I believe for the first time in three years we have the very first plausible explanation for what happened to my son," he said.

The investigation was conducted by the El Paso County sheriff's office and detectives from Colorado Springs, at the request of Jefferson County.

Arrington said the El Paso County investigators had access to information that has been denied the families. He also said Rohrbough's relatives will review the full report before deciding on their next step.

Jefferson County authorities asked for El Paso County's help because that agency's deputies were not involved in the initial response to the attack.